Cruz was charged with guilt by complicity to commit attempted murder as a first-degree felony; first-degree robbery as a first-degree felony; aggravated assault as a second-degree felony; and burglary as a second-degree felony.

Mendiola and Tedtaotao were charged with identical crimes, except that Tedtaotao has the additional charge of attempted murder.

Cruz entered a plea deal and admitted to first degree robbery. He is expected to testify against Tedtaotao and Mendiola.

The victim, a competitive triathlon athlete who used to teach pilates at Guam Naval Base, underwent major brain surgery and is still going through an extensive rehabilitation program in California. She came back to Guam two weeks ago and testified against Tedtaotao.

The trial against Tedtaotao was temporarily suspended to give way for the trial of Mendiola and allow the victim to take the witness stand at the soonest possible time.

Rehabilitation

The victim needs to return to California to continue her rehabilitation treatment. In addition, she is still having difficulty moving her left leg and arm.

Her doctor told the jury that the injury left a huge blood clot in the victim’s brain that paralyzed her right side and totally disabled the victim from communicating, understanding, or expressing herself.

Dr. Jay Rosenberg said the brain injury hampered the victim’s ability to think and slowed down her brain’s processing.

Because of the injury, her normal brain pathways stopped working, rendering her right arm and leg unable to function normally, according to the doctor.

“The brain affects the motor function of the hands. It affects her writing and the performance of her daily living activities. Her right leg lost the ability to move upward and she is susceptible to fall if she moves fast,” he added.

Background

A magistrate complaint stated that the three defendants drove up to a residence on Ocean View Drive in Piti on April 20. They knocked on the door, which was answered by the victim. The three allegedly forced themselves into the home and knocked the woman to the ground. Tedtaotao allegedly began hitting her in the face with a gun and used duct tape to seal her mouth and bind her arms and legs. Cruz allegedly took a duffle bag and stuffed it with clothes and a camera.

Defendant Mendiola allegedly took two laptop computers while Tedtaotao allegedly hit the female repeatedly in the face, asking her where her money was.